The Power of Sovereignity: The Political And Ideological Philosophy of Sayyid Qutb (Routledge Studies in Politicl Islam)

The Power of Sovereignty explores the religio-political and philosophical concepts of Sayyid Qutb, one of the most influential political thinkers for contemporary Islamists and who has greatly influenced the likes of Osama Bin Laden. Executed by the Egyptian state in 1966, his books continue to be read and his theory of jahiliyya ‘ignorance’ is still of prime importance for radical Islamic groups. Providing a detailed perspective of Sayyid Qutb’s writings, this book examines: the relation between the specifics of the concept of hakimiyyah and that of jahiliyyah the force and intent of these two concepts how Qutb employs their specifics to critically assess the political establishments like nationalism and capitalism the influence of the two concepts on Egypt’s radical Islamic movements, where many of al’Qa’ida’s lieutenants, officers, ideologues and conspirators were fomented Shedding light on Islamic radicalism and its intellectual origins The Power of Sovereignty presents new analysis on the intellectual legacy of one of the most important thinkers of modern Islamic revival.

The Power of Sovereignty explores the religio-political and philosophical concepts of Sayyid Qutb, one of the most influential political thinkers for contemporary Islamists and who has greatly influenced the likes of Osama Bin Laden. Executed by the Egyptian state in 1966, his books continue to be read and his theory of jahiliyya ‘ignorance’ is still of prime importance for radical Islamic groups.

Providing a detailed perspective of Sayyid Qutb’s writings, this book examines:

• the relation between the specifics of the concept of hakimiyyah and that of jahiliyyah
• the force and intent of these two concepts
• how Qutb employs their specifics to critically assess the political establishments like nationalism and capitalism
• the influence of the two concepts on Egypt’s radical Islamic movements, where many of al’Qa’ida’s lieutenants, officers, ideologues and conspirators were fomented

Shedding light on Islamic radicalism and its intellectual origins The Power of Sovereignty presents new analysis on the intellectual legacy of one of the most important thinkers of modern Islamic revival.

Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 9 Contents......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Introduction......Page 14 Part I: Religio-political discourse......Page 18 1 Sovereignty (al-Hakimiyyah)......Page 20 2 Servitude (al-‘Ubudiyyah)......Page 60 3 Universality of Islam......Page 69 Part II: Philosophical discourse......Page 78 4 The innate character andmoral constitution (al-Fitrah)......Page 82 5 Human intellect (al-‘Aql)......Page 99 6 The universe (al-Kawn)......Page 113 Part III Face to face......Page 130 7 Sovereignty and politicalestablishments......Page 132 Part IV Influences and responses......Page 186 8 Egypt’s Islamic movement......Page 188 Glossary......Page 226 Notes......Page 232 Bibliography......Page 277 Index......Page 306 "The Power of Sovereignty attempts to understand the ideas and thoughts of Sayyid Qutb whose corpus of work and, in particular, his theory of hakimiyyah (sovereignty) is viewed as a threat to nationalistic government and peace worldwide. This book provides a detailed perspective of Sayyid Qutb's writings."--Jacket Sovereignty (al-Hakimiyyah) Servitude (al-ʼUbudiyyah) Universality of Islam.